Beaumont Man Dies from Injuries Suffered in Dec. 29 Hit and Run

A suspected hit and run driver has been arrested for allegedly slamming his full-size pickup truck head-on into a bicyclist and killing him, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department reported today.

The victim, Phillip Richards, 64, of Beaumont, died of his injuries Saturday at Riverside County Regional Medical Center, two weeks after the Dec. 29 crash.

A sheriff's deputy on patrol Monday spotted a 2005 Ford 500 parked in the driveway of a Calimesa home and saw it matched the description of the car seen leaving the incident, Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. John Reinbolz said. The car also had front headlight and front left side damage believed to have been caused by the collision, the sergeant added.

The car was then towed to the sheriff's Cabazon station and processed for evidence.

William Donald Johnson, 42, of Calimesa, was later determined to have been driving north on Calimesa Boulevard, when he inexplicably crossed over the opposite lanes and plowed into Richards, who was pedaling south, the sheriff's department reported.

It remained unclear if Johnson would face any additional charges following Richards' death. Information about Johnson's arrest was not made public until Sunday, and his name did not appear in online jail records today.